P1 for Kate and Thomas at Super 90

What a qualifier and what a race!

There was drama at Rye for the 5th round of the Super 90 Championship. In the darkness of the race (and boy, those dark nights are closing in), a front wheel fell off one kart and a track rod broke on another. Despite valiantly grabbing the broken track rod, Blaise Turnstill couldn’t control the kart after passing the checkered flag, and hit the wall. He’s okay, but the way Blaise held that ice pack to his hand showed that he was definitely in pain. Rye House really has to do a better job of maintaining their karts.

Thomas Wong pulled out a P3 qualifying time in the last lap of qualifying, which gave Kate Broadbent an excellent inside spot on the grid.

Rye House don’t dally on the starting lights, and the karts were off before I’d even realised. A good start from Kate, and consistent fast lap times. Some tussles between P1 and P2, a spin here and a spin there, and Kate was suddenly in P1. It wasn’t long before P1 and P2 were back in the game, and despite some brilliantly defensive driving from Kate (with Team Principal Clive Broadbent and driver Thomas Wong telling her when attacks were about to happen through the amazing Cardo Packtalk Edge comms) P1 and P2 pulled ahead and Kate was back in P3. Maintaining her lead over P4, Kate pitted in P3, giving Thomas a great opportunity to get podium.

A slow pit stop, and Thomas was in P5. It didn’t take him long to get back into P3, and despite the back-marker traffic, he battled on with consistently fast lap times maintaining his P3.

Constant updates from Clive and Kate helped Thomas chip away at the opposition, and with only a few laps to go, Thomas was suddenly right up there with P1 and P2. BTK were hoping for a P3 finish, but a P2 or even a P1 was suddenly an option. P1 and P2 were battling with each other again, seemingly oblivious of Thomas coming up behind them. And then suddenly Thomas was bumper to bumper with them. Final lap, and Thomas snuck ahead amidst all the commotion, and he was in P1. Shouts and screams from Clive and Kate down the comms, and all Thomas had to do was hold on. Down the final straight there was nothing in it. Thomas hunkered down to get as much DRS as possible and suddenly he was across the line, checkered flag, and he’d won. P1 for BTK. What an amazing race. Well done to Kate and Thomas for some brilliant driving and brilliant teamwork.